READING TEXTBOOKS
EFFECTIVELY
Prof. Dr. Wawan S. Suherman, M.Ed.
Fitria Dwi Andriyani, M.Or.
Rev. 07/2008. Source Unknown
O://dept/LSS/Handouts/Displayrack/Reading textbooks effectively
Reading Textbook Effectively
1. Read in three steps
2. Spend half of your reading and study time reading
and reciting the information.
3. Know what you are supposed to learn.
4. Review when forgetting is greatest
5. Review frequently
6. Space your learning
7. Know word meanings
8. Make ideas meaningful
9. Supplementary reading may add meaning to
assignments
10. Learn of other aids in reading and studying
1. Survey the material by reading the titles, subtitles, bold print, italics, definitions, topic
sentences, summaries, and conclusions.
Why? If you give your mind a general
framework of main ideas and structure, you
will be better able to comprehend and retain
the details you will read later. After previewing
you should be able to say: What this is mainly
about. How it is organized. How difficult it is.
About how long it will take to read.
2. Form questions out of the titles and subtitles using the Six Keys to Reading—who,
what, when, why, where, and how. This
gives you a purpose for your reading and
improves concentration.
Then, read actively to select what you want
to learn. Indicate your selection by
underlining words or phrases you wish to
remember and by making marginal notes.
3. Recall the material you have selected or
marked for learning in order to assimilate it.
This process enables you to effectively retain
the ideas you selected.
After reading each small section of material
you can: recall mentally or recite orally, ask
yourself questions and answer them in your
own words, make separate notes or outlines
of what you have read.
The final test of learning is in communicating
what you have studied or experienced.
Passive reading is mere impression.
Therefore, in an hour of study, the individual
who spends half of the time trying to write,
say, or think about what he or she has read
will be able to reproduce twice as many
ideas as the individual who spends all of the
time in passive reading.
After you have read your book, close it and
attempt to recall what you have read, review
to fill in any gaps in your knowledge or find
the right words to express the ideas, retest
yourself, and review again.
The cycle is to read and recite, read and
recite, and read and recite until you feel
confident in your knowledge of the material.
While surveying a chapter, you can obtain
a perspective in evaluating the merits of
various ideas. Usually, an instructor has
certain preferences that you should
discover from his or her emphasis in
lectures, from questions asked in class
or, if necessary, from private
conferences.
In addition to the instructor’s preferences,
however, most topics have general
requirements that must be learned.
Questions will vary from subject to
subject, but illustrative “must-answers”
are:
•
•
What are the chief characteristics of this?
Define it.
What are the causes?
What are the theories or the hypotheses?
What are the results of this?
How is this classified?
How is this similar or how does it differ
from such and such?
• What is the relationship of this to
something else studied?
•
•
•
•
•
In other words, a student’s understanding of
a topic may be examined. It is better that you
examine yourself before the instructor does
so by asking such questions as: who, what,
why, when, where, how, explain, compare,
define, give the causes of, name the results
of, illustrate, give reasons for, identify and
classify).
Review when forgetting is
greatest
Most academic learning fades away unless it is
used or reviewed. The greatest amount of
forgetting usually occurs within the first 24
hours after study. Therefore, lecture notes
taken today or material read today should be
reviewed today. This normally takes 10 to 20
minutes per subject.
Because of delayed recall (the examinations
next month and the finals), periodic review is
necessary. An hour’s review often results in
as much actual learning as five or six hours
of original study.
A short weekly review of about 30 minutes
for all notes taken that week will pay high
dividends on all examinations and in more
permanent learning for use in later years.
Studying two hours a day five days a
week for four weeks ordinarily results
in more learning than 40 hours of study
crammed into a four-day period.
Learning is assimilation, a settling
process, growth-all of which require
time.
Know word meanings
Precise word meaning is basic to the
understanding of an assignment. Use a
dictionary or the glossary in your text to
find the definition of a word used in your
text or in a lecture. Both a general and a
specific vocabulary are necessary for
understanding most university subjects.
Make ideas meaningful
Ideas from books become more meaningful when
you have paraphrased them. When you have a
ready example, illustration, application, comparison,
contrast and classification, ideas become more
meaningful when related to other ideas, when
reacted to, when analyzed, compared and
synthesized. Many ideas may be expressed as a
single general principle. Thus reading and
studying—learning and reproducing—are dependent
on thinking.
Supplementary reading
may add meaning to
assignments
When textbooks or lectures are difficult, reading in
books with simpler vocabulary or with more
pictures, illustrations or definitions may permit you
to clarify your text or lecture notes. As you extend
your meanings, both reading and speed
comprehension improve. One of the best practices
for improving the speed of reading, which is the
problem of many college students, is to read widely
in more elementary books related to the field of
difficulty.
A study schedule helps most students to
spend their time wisely and ensure adequate
time for study. A regular place for study,
particularly one that is quiet and well lit, aids
in learning and personal efficiency.
Learning to use an index may save much
time otherwise spent in thumbing through a
book to locate forgotten ideas. Proper visual
functioning, motivation, health and seeing
value in what is being studied—all of these
are conducive to economy in reading, study
and learning.
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